Amalgamator



Oct. 21,- 1952 A. FERGUSON 2,614,756

AMALGAMATOR Filed May 3, 1947 s sheets-sheet 1 I l' ,4A/ DREW FE/eewo/v Oct. 21, 1952 A; FERGUSON l 2,614,756

AMALGAMATOR Filed May 5, 1947 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 A. FERGUSON Oct. 21, 1952 AMALGAMATOR Filed May 3, 1947 5 Sheets-Sheet. I5

/Nz/E/wa NDEEW FERGUSON TTUE/VEYJ Oct. 21, 1952 A. FERGUSON 2,614,756

AMALGAMATOR Filed May s, 1947 5 sheets-sheet 4 2; /NvfNro/l ls/DEE w F15/acusan /ZOQMM 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Oct. Z1, 1952 A. FERGUSON AMALGAMATOR Filed May s, 1947 Patented Oct. 21, 1952 l UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE- Andrew Ferguson, Pasadena, Calif.

Application May 3, 1947, Serial No. 745,777

mode of operation and exceptionally effective in the separation of sand and concentrates.

Claims. (Cl. 5241-38) It is also an object of the invention to provide an amalgamator of the character above stated, wherein the reduction of the ore to any desired degree of neness may be accomplished Without direct contact of steel on steel as embodied in the grinding elements and wherein the precious metals are separated from the crushed ore vby a rubbing and scouring process rather than bythe usual pounding, stamping or rolling operations.

Another object of the present invention is to provide novel and efficient meansfor separation of the concentrates from the Waste or sand.

Other objects of the invention reside in the novel details of construction and combination of parts embodied in the amalgamator and in their mode of operation, as Will hereinafter be fully described;

In accomplishing the above mentioned and other objects of the invention, I have provided the improved details of construction, the preferred forms for which are illustrated in the accompany- Ving drawings wherein- Fig. 1 is a side View of the present amalgamator, eliminating from the view the supporting frame structure for better illustration.

` Fig. 2 is a central vertical section of the ore grinder.

Fig. 3 is a central vertical section of the separating unit.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section, taken on the line 4-4 in Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section, taken on line 5-5 in Fig. 2, showing the relationship of ore grinding and metal polishing elements.

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section of a portion of the machine as seen in line 6-6 in Fig. l.

Fig.A 7 is an irregular horizontal section substantially on the line 1-1 in Fig. 3, showing one of the sand and concentrate separating pans.

Fig. 8 is a horizontal sectional detail of a bearing, as on line 8-8 in Fig. 3.

Referring more in detail to the drawings:

In its present preferred form of construction,

` the machine comprises a'horizontal bed or plate I constituting the base member of a frame struc-` ture, not herein shown exceptl in part, whereby the various parts of the machine are supported. As noted in Fig. 5, the iramestructure comprises corner posts 2 and cross members 3 whichin a general way indicate the type of frame structure used.

Fixed rigidly in the frame structure at vertically spaced intervals, are horizontal plates 5, 6 and 1, to which various parts of the machine are attached as will presently be described; the plate 'I being a part of a bracket located at the top of the frame structure; plate 5 also being part of a bracket and is substantially mid-Way between the plates I and 1 and the plate 6 being mid-Way between plates 5 and 1 and xed on the frame structure. 'In Fig.` 1, I have shown the brackets of which plates 5 and 1 are parts, asbeing bolted rigidly to the plate 6 at lower and upper sides thereof. Plate 6 is rigidly fixed in the frame.

Supported by the various plates l, 5, 5' and 1, in succession from the lower end of the machine upwardly, are the concentrateseparating pans, the ore grinding and polishing elements, the ore crusher and the driving gearing for the drive shaft of the ore crushing and the grinding elements. The ore crusher which is located at the upper end of the machine is designated in its entirety by numeral 8 and it comprises an exterior housing I0 which is cylindrical in crosssection and disposed with its axial line in vertical position. This housing is formed with an encircling, horizontally projecting flange I I that is secured'by bolts l2 to the plate 6; the plate E, as noted in Fig. 2, `being formed with an opening I 3 into which the lower end portion of the housing extends.

'At the top of the housing l0 there isattached an upwardly directed, conically tapered member I5, formed with a. central opening I5 into which the ore that is to be ground may be fed by suitable means, for example, as from the chute Il. The lower end of the cylindrical housing I0 is open, but has a perforated closure plate I8 ap# plied thereover; the plate being held in place by bolts I9 applied through its peripheral portion and threaded into the lower end of housing In. The plate I8 is so shaped as to provide an annular trough=like portion I8 concentric of the housing IIJ and it is formed with a central opening through which'the grinder drive shaft extends as Will later be explained.

Located between the pIates 5 and E is the'ore grinder which is designated in its entirety by numeral 20. This grinder comprises a cylindrical housing 22, coaxially aligned with the Crusher housing IJ. Disposed coaxially within the housing 22 is a grinder hub 23 from which a drive shaft 24 extends, upwardly1 and coaxially through and above the Crusher housing. At its upper end, the shaft 24 is revolvably contained in a ball bearing raceway 25, and this in turn is supported in a housing 25 fixed to the frame plate l. A bevel gear wheel 28 is xed on the upper end of shaft 24 just below the bearing 25 and this is driven by a bevel gear pinion 29 that is fixed on a driven shaft 30.

'I'he cylindrical housing 22 is of slightly greater diameter than housing Ill and is closed at upper and lower ends by end plates 3| and '32 respectively. Thel upper plate 3| isformed', with. Va central opening for passage of the drive shaftr 24, and within this opening it mounts a ball bearing 33 through which the shaft 24 extends. The; lower end' plate 32. has an. axial, downwardlydirected. hub portion 34` that. is rotatably confined within a ball bearing 35 disposed ina seat 36 upon the plate 5.V Thus, the housings of the crusher and. grinder are held in axial alignment.

The. crushing of the ore:` that enters the machine through the top opening I6 is effected, by: the eccentric',v rotary action, of, a. crusherV head 31 thatis mounted on the shaftV 24. As seen in Fig. 2,A avspherically shaped bearing` 38'is mounted onv theshaft 24: and'` seated, against a shoulder 39 thereon. The head` 31 is mounted for pivotal action. on this bearing. Keyed on. the` shaft 2.4, belowA the bearingv 38, is an eccentricv 4U. about which a ball bearing 4| is, mounted. The bearing is contained within a cylindrical socket. 42 formed in the lower end portion of the` head 31 and through. this means, rotation of the shaft 24 will effect an oscilli-ati'ng and'rotary action of the head that causes the crushing of the ore as it feeds downwardly through the openingv I6 and thence between the surface of the head .and the inner surfaces of the member l5;

The ore, as it is crushed, falls into the. housing A. r

I and is caught in the annulartrough I8' of the platel I8, and. thenl passes downwardly through the openingsy I 8J: therein into the basinlike plate 3| that closes the upper end of. the

grinder housing 22. The plate 3|, like plate I8,

is mounted for rotation as previously explained,

about the central, axial line of shaft 24 and the hub member 23. In operation of the machine the housing is rotated at a substantial speed in one direction, whilev the hub member rotates in an opposite direction. As seen in Figs. l. and` ,I

3, the` housing 22`has a belt' wheel 4.5 fixed concentrically thereaboutwand about thiswheel, a driving belt 46 is extended; the belt passing also about a driving pulley 41 xed on a vertical drive shaft 481 that is mounted in the frame structure.

Within the housing 22, a plurality of annular, vertically spaced shelves 5l! arefcast integrally' with the housing wall; mounted on these shelves at spaced intervals are grinding blocks held in place by bolts 52 as seen in Fig. 2. The bolts have inner end portions 53 rotatably fixed in the blocks and have. shank portions threaded through the housing wall and Aequipped at their outer ends with wrench heads 54 whereby the bolts may be rotatably adjusted for the purpose of adjusting the blocks inwardly or outwardly. Lock nuts 55 applied to the Shanks retain the adjustment.

The hub member 23 is a cylindrical body, disposed coaxially of the housing 22 and formed with a plurality of encircling flanges 58 at the same levels of the shelves 5U. Fixed on each of lthese several anges, at spaced intervals, are fgrinder blocks 60 as shown in Fig. 5, and these blocks have cylindrically curved outer surfaces that are adapted, incident to relativerotation of the housing and hub, to pass in close relationship to the grinding surface of the blocks 5|,

" thus` to effect a fine grinding of ore passing between them.

From theupper end of the housing 22 downwardly, the. grinding blocks 5| at the various levels are adjusted closer to the grinding heads so: as: to produce a progressive reduction in the material as it moves downwardly through the grinder.

Itis shown. inFig. 5, that the ends of the: blocks 5!- and ends'of the grinding heads Bil are bevelledas at 5| in such manner to facilitate. the autof matic. advancement of the crushed ore between the.` grinding surface of these parts withv the, rotationl of the housing andv hub. in opposite. d-` rections.

Formed within the bottom wall plate 32 of the housing 22, justwithin the side wall is4 an al1-- nularl trough 62 in which mercury may be con-4 tained. With the passing of the crushed and' ground ore into` the lower end of the housing, the: free. metal will be taken up in the mercury as is welll understood. Removable plugs 63 are applied, within openings in the trough to permit draining of the amalgam whenever this is re,- quired or desired.

The reduced ore, or what is usually referred to as the sand, is washed out of the housing 2,2. by reason of means which will now be described.

Appliedl vertically through the lower end wall 3-2 of the housing 22 and` coaxially of the-housing, is a tubular, vertically extending member 65. The open lower end of this tube extends downwardly and through an opening in the plate 5. The upper portion of the tube extends within and close to the upper end of the cylindrical chamber formed within the hollow hub mem. ber23, and is open at its upper end.- It is shown in Fig. 2 that there is a substantial amountk of clearance between the` tube 65. and the side Walls of the hub chamber and also that the upper end of the hub chamber is closed and that the lower end opens into the lower part of housing 22.

A. water supply pipe 'l0 enters the open, lower end of the tube and is contained. therein. with substantial clearance and` at a. point just above the upper end of the tube, a plurality of branchy pipes 1I lead outwardly then'downwardly therefrom, outside of the tube 65 and within the hub chamber and open at,v their lower ends. into the lower end of the housing 22. Water that is dis-V charged Vfrom the lower ends of pipes 1I creates an upflow of water lin. the hub chamber and a suction of material that carries it into the upper end -of tube 65 for discharge atthe lower end of the tube to the separator pans.

It is also, shown in Fig. 2 that the hub member 23 has a plurality of ports 12 opening laterally therefrom atV the different levels of the `grimfling heads and keeps the. material at the various levels ushed with water from the hub chamber. Thus, sulphides.- sand and concentrates will be washed out through tube 6.5, while .the free metal and heavy concentrates may mercury trough 62.

The apparatus that is located between the plates and `j5, and which is shown in vertical sectionin Fig. 3, is designed to effect the separation of -the heavy concentrates from the sand that is discharged from tube 65. This apparatus comprises a series of separation pans and associated equipment which will nowbe described;

Fixed rigidly onthe plate I, in coaxial align` ment with the driving shaft 24, is a tubular, upwardly extended post or standard 80. The lower end of this post extends through the platev andi is there connected with a drain pipe 8|.

Revolubly mounted on the post 80, invertically spaced relationship, are the separation pans 85, three being herein shown; each being like the others/and therefore one will be described with the understanding that its description applies be caught in the equally to the others.`

, 6 a pluralityof drain pipes |05'ext'end ldownwardly and discharge into the outer compartments of the next lower basin. Each `basin `is `likewise equipped with the drain pipesv|06 discharging into the next lower pan in order that the sand may be subjected to repeated separation opera# tions. The sand from the lowermost basin` 89v drains into a receptacle |01 and from this, through a pipe |08 to waste. The concentrates which are discharged downwardly through the tubular post 80 are carried through the pipe 8| kto a suitable receptacle in which the .concentrate may beretained. i i i J Inthe separation operation just described, the

' concentrate that iscollected` in each of the sev-r eral pans 85 is not again allowed to mix with the sand but is discharged tothe tube or` post Each pan 85 is circular in form, and has a i vertical, upstandingrim 85', a bottom wall 86 that slopes from the rim downwardly and inwardly. to an upstanding wall 85a about a central `opening through which the mounting post-80 extends. i

Below each pan 85 is a horizontal basin 89 that is rigidly supported from the post. Each basinjwhich is of lesser diameter than the pans 05. asnoted in Fig. 3, has a peripheral flange 89', and avertical wall 89a cencentrically of the basin but spaced inwardly from the iiange 89, thus to divide the basin so as to 'provide an annular outer compartment 89:6 and an inner compartment 892/, which are best shown in Figs. 3 and 7. Drain tubes 88 lead downwardly andinwardly from the trough 81 of each pan `85 and, as seen in Fig. 3, discharge into the inner compartment 89g/ of the next lower basin.

Each basin 89 is xed by means of a hub portion to thepost 80 and has drain ports 92 opening from` its inner compartment into the tubular post which, in turn, drains into the pipe 8|, as seen in Fig. 7.

the `bearings 94 and 95. Thus, with the rotation of the pans about the support 80, they will be given an eccentric motion that is very helpful in the operation of separating the gold from the sand.

The several pans are individually rotatably driven and for this I provide each with a belt wheel 96; each wheel being rigidly ,suspended from the bottom of the pan by a plurality of brackets 91. Belts 98 operate about the wheels 96 and about pulley wheels 99 on the drive shaft 48 .as seen in Figs. 1 and 7. Belt tighteners of suitable kind are used to keep the beltstight and permit the eccentric action of the pans.

Closely overlying each pan 85 is an annular water pipe |00 and these are connected with a Water supply pipe |0|. Water supplied through the pipe |0|. under pressure, is discharged downwardly through perforations |02 in the pipe |00 into the pan 85 thus to wash down the material received from tube 65 and facilitate the concentrating and `separating action and the flushing oi' the pans. From near thev hub portion of the bottom wall 88 of the uppermost pan,

andfrom this to a storage receptacle. The sand, however, is repeatedly subjected to'an operation for further segregation of the concentrates therefrom. y

Having thusv described my` invention, what `I claim asl new therein and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is: f l `i 1. In an amalgamator of the characterldes. scribed, a cylindrical housing mounted to Vrotate about a vertical axis and adapted to receive crushed ore thereinto at its upperend, a cylindrical hub member mounted coaxially therein for rotation; said housing having a bottom wall forming an annular amalgam trough adjacent the outer wall of the housing; said cylindrical housing having annular shelves formed therein on its side walls at different levels; said hub having anges formed thereabout at the levels of said shelves, ore grinding blocks nxed on said anges, ore grinding blocks adjustably mounted on said shelves to coact with those on said lia-nges for the gradual reduction of ore as it moves downwardly from grinding blocks of higher level to those of lower level, a water outlet pipe extended upwardly through said bottom Y Wall into said tubular hub, with clearance between them; said tubular hub having openings in its side walls between the flanges thereon i'or ilow of water to said outlet pipe, means for discharging wash water into the lower end of said housing for the upward washing of ground ore into the hub through its wall openings, for outiiow through said pipe, and means for revolving the hub and housing in opposite directions to effect the grinding operation. Y

2. In an ore reducing mill of the character described, a rotatably mounted, cylindrical and vertically disposed housing, closed at its lower end and adapted to receive crushed ore thereinto at its upper end for downward progression and formed with an annular amalgam basin concentrically thereof at its lower end, a rotatably mounted, hollow hub contained coaxially within the housing and formed with radially opening inflow ports, ore scouring and polishing blocks within the housing, nxed to the hu-b member and to the housing wall to coact, but without contact, for the pulverizing of ore and polishing of metal passing between the coacting surfaces thereof in its downward progression, an outflow pipe leading from within the upper end portion of the hollow hub through the base of the housing, means for` rotating the said housing and hub at high and differential rates of speed and means for admittance of a flow of water under pressure into the lower end of the housing for an upward washing of pulverized material 'through' the' hubp'orts to lthe outflow pipe. l l

3. Apparatus :as recited :in :claim y2 "wherein thefannular space lbetween the Ahousing and fhub is fdivrded 'by .horizontal `flanges on these parts intoasuccession 'of lcompartments with restricted passages from 'each into the one -next lower `for the-downward progression' of the ore and "for therup-ow of the wash 'water through the sev'- eral compartments, vand'from them into the said hollow hub through the #said inflow ports yand thence "-to the outflow ',pipe, 'and wherein \ore pu1 verizing blocks are arranged in fco'acting relationship on the hub and housing in each Yof the compartments for a progressively liner pulveriza` tion of vmaterial as it progresses downwardly through .the compartments.

`4..rnnparatus :as recited in claim '2 wherein the' annular space between hub and housing is' divided fbyhorizo'ntal flanges on -these'parts at the same level, into a succession of coaxial, an.- miler `compartrnents 'with inter-communicating passages between ythey-edgesfof c'oacting ange'sfor the progression of ore from each compartment to .the one next lower, fandffor the upflow'iof 7wash water through the compartments, and into the hub through the inii'ow-.ports-a-nd wherein .coastingV blocks are arranged :spaced apart.` and in concentric, circular rows 'on the housing and hub -anges in 4each of the compartments for the progressive-reduction :of-.thee

crushed'ore as .it `progresses from one compartment to the other.

In yan ore reducing mill of the character.

described, a vertically .disposed cylindrical housme designed to receive crushed -ore thereinto atr its4 upper end, and lincluding a closing wall at .its .lower .end, formed about the housing, wall with an amalgam basin, a tubular hub member 8; contained-coaxially within the :cylindrical hous-` ing, means for effecting high speed relative ro.- tation of the hub ymerrrber and housing,V a succession of annular shelves formed .in vertical spacing on the walls of said housing interiorly thereof, annular flanges formed about `the hub at levels corresponding to those of the-housing and with clearance between them; said shelves.

and I-ilanefes dening 7a succession of annular compartments, each ladapted to receive Vmaterial from the one `next higher through the clearance provided between corresponding-shelves and flanges, ore grinding and scouring blocks xed.

in co-operating. `relation on the shelves and flanges, means for the admittance of water -under pressure into `the -lower end'of the housing, and anoutlet tube extending upwardly through the 'closing wall of the housing and into the tubular hub, and hav-ing kports for the succession of compartments for the outflowv of b,wash water into the tube.

ANDREW FERGUSON.

.REFERENCES CITED 111e of this patent:

UNITED 'STATES 'PATENTS 

